An orthotropic elastic-plastic constitutive model for masonry walls

Abstract

The use of a continuum structural model for the analysis of masonry structures in the plane stress state is discussed in this paper. Attention is paid to orthotropic masonry at the material level and validation of the model after its implementation in a proprietary finite element method (FEM) system via user-supplied subroutine. The constitutive relations are established in the framework of the mathematical elastoplasticity theory of small displacements and deformations. Based on the orthotropic failure criterion that was originally proposed by Hoffman in the spatial stress state, the model includes a generalization of the criterion in the plane stress. As it is the case for isotropic quasi-brittle materials, different yield surfaces are considered for tension and compression, which are both of Hoffman type.